Roundup: Another NDP budget demand

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The NDP’s latest budget demand is a national school food programme, which is a) provincial jurisdiction, and b) something already under negotiation with provinces. This was a Liberal campaign promise, and as with many a file like this, they’ve been doing the heavy lifting in the background. For Jagmeet Singh, however, this isn’t happening fast enough, because in his conception of how governing works, the prime minister simply needs to put on his Green Lantern Ring and use enough willpower to make whatever he wants happen, and in the NDP’s conception, that generally means something that obliterates the federal and provincial jurisdictional boundaries.

I suspect a couple of things are at work—one of them is that if the federal government does come to an agreement with the provinces, Singh can try and claim victory for it, as he does with most things that he has done absolutely no work towards other than throwing a public tantrum. If this is a matter of the provinces looking for more federal money, then it will take time to ensure that the agreements are drawn up in a manner that has strings attached because we know that we absolutely cannot trust provinces to take the money and put it entirely where it is supposed to go (bitter experience with health transfers and pandemic supports), because as we’ve seen in child care, where there are agreements with strings, that some provinces have not been spending the federal funds where they are supposed to go, which remains a very big problem.

Ukraine Dispatch:

A man was killed in a Russian missile strike in the Kharkiv region, while five people were killed when a bus struck a mine in Luhansk region. One of Ukraine’s top commanders says they will stabilize their defensive position shortly, with the aim of returning to counter-offensive actions later in the year. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Odesa with the prime minister of Greece when a Russian strike exploded nearby the pair. Here is a look at Europe’s attempt to get more ammunition to Ukraine, including a Czech initiative to deliver stockpiles until production can ramp up.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau had an audience with His Majesty the King by video yesterday.
  • Dominic LeBlanc released the government’s (belated) response to the Emergencies Act inquiry report, and they want more time to make changes to the Act itself.
  • Ahmed Hussen was supposed to hold a press conference where it was expected he would announce restored funding to UNRWA, but it was abruptly cancelled.
  • Health Canada is banning all uses of strychnine poison.
  • Justice officials insist that they have set the bar high enough for hate speech that it won’t flood the Human Rights Tribunal with complaints.
  • The newly commissioned slushbreakers—erm, Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships have problems with flooding, anchors, water quality, and their warranties have expired.
  • One of the companies involved in the ArriveCan development had its security status suspended, meaning it can’t bid on any future contracts until renewed.
  • Here is the sordid tale of a botched procurement contract which has landed at the International Trade Tribunal and could wind up in a multi-million dollar cost award.
  • Michael Spavor has reached a settlement agreement with the federal government around compensation for his detention in China.
  • First Nations leaders met to discuss the threats of wildfires, floods and future pandemics, and how to best protect their communities.
  • Drought is persisting on the prairies, which is going to keep beef prices high as ranchers sell off herds and can’t afford to replace them.
  • Conservative and Bloc MPs on the public safety committee want an emergency meeting because *gasp* the prison with Paul Bernardo has a hockey arena!
  • The Star has some behind-the-scenes details of the pharmacare bill negotiations, with the NDP retroactively talking tough, as if they would actually pull the plug.
  • A group of Conservative MPs were given a dressing down at a town hall meeting with Ukrainian Canadians in Etobicoke because of their recent behaviour.
  • Three former chief justices of the Ontario provincial court are calling out Doug Ford’s attempt to stack the court with so-called “tough judges.”
  • The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is suing the Alberta Energy Regulator over the Kearl oilsands tailings pond seepage, with an aim to reform the regulator.
  • Kevin Carmichael delves into how the government treats publicly-traded companies different in terms of support for innovation and boosting productivity.
  • Carmichael also walks through both the Bank of Canada interest rate decision, as well as StatsCan’s productivity numbers (which were finally up for a change).
  • Paul Wells charts Emmanuel Macron’s change of tune when it comes to Russia and Ukraine, and why more western leaders need to be taking his cue.

Odds and Ends:

https://twitter.com/scc_eng/status/1765369240293646674

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Another NDP budget demand”

  1. I wish to bring to your attention that you provide with updates on the war in Ukraine but you appear to have been very careful never to mention GAZA. The Canadian Gov and our PM also appears to want to say as little as possible. Why are you Dale, so quiet on the topic? Is it too controversial?

    • And the Ukraine updates are spotty at best, consisting mainly of tweets from zelensky and the Kyiv Independent which is heavily funded by the EU.

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